Comparative Analysis of the Propagation Conditions of Millimeter Radio Waves at Radio Astronomy Polygons in Russia and Uzbekistan

Astronomy Reports - The feasibility of expanding the evaluation parameters was discussed when selecting the “Karadag” test site for the installation of millimeter-wave antennas based on...     

Analysis of 3D Doppler Tomography of the X-ray Binary System Cygnus X-1 from Spectral Observations in 2007 in the HeII λ 4686 Å Line

This is the second paper in a series dedicated to studies of the X-ray binary Cyg X-1 in the HeII λ 4686 Å line using 3D Doppler tomography. A detailed analysis of the tomogram constructed has made it possible for the first time to obtain information about the motions of gaseous flows including all three velocity components. The observations were obtained in June 2007 at the Terskol Branch of the Institute of Astronomy (Russia) and the National Astronomical Observatory of Mexico. The correctness of the tomographic results and their discussion is analyzed. The results are compared with a 2D Doppler tomogram reconstruction. Model-atmosphere computations of HeII λ 4686 Å line profiles are used to estimate the influence of absorption features of the Osupergiant on the emission structure in the tomogram. The correctness of the 3D solutions is confirmed by the good agreement between the original sequence of spectral data and a control data set computed using the constructed 3D Doppler tomogram. Tomograms constructed using the data of each of the two observatories are compared. The results of the reconstruction for inclinations of the system of 40° and 45° essentially coincide. The maximum absorption (corresponding to the O supergiant) and emission structural features in the 3D tomogram are located in its central (V _x , V _y ) section, where the velocity component perpendicular to the orbital plane V _z is zero. The emission is generated mainly in the outer part of the accretion structure, close to the supergiant. A gaseous stream from the Lagrangian point L1 with its motion close to the orbital plane can be distinguished. Its maximum velocity reaches 800 km/s. The identification of an emission structure with V _z ~ 300 km/s and with V _x , V _y in the velocity interval corresponding to the donor star was unexpected. Its presence may indicate, for example, an outflow of matter from a magnetic pole of the supergiant.     

The Results of Observing the Astroclimate on the Crimean Peninsula in the Shortwave Part of the Millimeter Wavelength Range

We present the results of a study of the astroclimate on the Crimean Peninsula in the vicinity of the UNN Kara-Dag radioastronomical station (located at a height of 105 m above sea level). The measurements were taken in semi-automatic mode every 2 minutes from July 22 to September 21, 2017. We consider the variation trends of the atmospheric transparency parameters and plot statistical charts.We obtained statistical data characterizing the astroclimate. Their analysis allows us to forecast the possibility of radioastronomical observations in the millimeter and submillimiter wavelength range transparency windows.     

Spectral radiometric measurements of the temperature and radiation capacity of a rough sea surface

The results of radiometric remote simultaneous field measurements of the temperature and radiation capacity of the upper layer of the sea-surface temperature film 0.2 mm thick are presented. The measurements were conducted in the presence of wind waves and were characterized by an increased accuracy, which was achieved owing to the use of measurements of the intensity of radio radiation from the surface illuminated by radiation of a specified varying power. In our experiment, this illumination was provided by the radio radiation of the atmosphere, whose radiance temperature varies significantly, depending on the frequency at the slope of the absorption band of molecular oxygen (52.5–56 GHz). As a result, the radiation capacity and temperature of the skin layer were determined from the correlation dependence between the radiance temperatures of the surface and atmosphere measured by a radiometer-spectrometer in a number of channels separated in frequency. The radiance temperatures of the sea and atmosphere were measured at four frequencies of the 5-mm spectral range (53–55 GHz) on a vertical polarization. For absolute measurements, a calibration method was developed on the basis of a blackbody disk and two reflecting mirrors with the same solid angles. The measured values of the radiation capacity are variable and substantially smaller than the theoretical values determined by the models accepted for the permittivity of water and sea roughness. A possible cause of this can be the change of the permittivity of water in a thin surface layer of the temperature film (0.2 mm) due to the concentration of gases dissolved in water and surface-active substances within this layer.